Atelectasis with Pneumonia: A Pathophysiologic Study

Abstract

The occurrence of atelectasis in association with pneumonia has been recognized by clinicians for many years. Non-obstructive atelectasis, which has been reported in many instances of pneumonia, is one of the mysteries still remaining to cloud the understanding of a disease in which our therapeutic efforts have been relatively successful. As early as 1881, Rommelaere (1) reported this combination but offered no explanation for the mechanism of atelectasis. As recently as 1961, Burbank, Cutler, and Shar (2) published a small series of cases and speculated upon the basis of this relationship. They suggested that a reduction of lung volume occurs